King Leopold's Ghost

PG-13

2006

1 hr. 47 min.

Documentary

List

91%

11 Reviews

Tomatometer

64%

50+ Ratings

Audience Score

Based on Adam Hochschild's 1998 historical novel of the same name, the film traces the brutal legacy of King Leopold II of Belgium. In the 1880s, Leopold began an underhanded campaign for the right to colonize the Congo Free State for himself, and once he succeeded, he turned the country into a slave camp, stripping out all valuable resources and slaughtering the locals. The film features interviews with Belgian scholars and Congolese survivors and is narrated by Don Cheadle.

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Audience Member

I'm amazed at friends who want to visit Africa & have their picture taken on an elephant. This story is about the Congo a country rich in cobalt, copper, diamond, tantalum, tin, gold, oil & rubber. Belgium's King made vast fortunes plundering these resources using the Congolians for slaves. A story that has been whitewashed to hide the crimes against the people. The U. S. & the news have been complicit in denying this brutal history while amassing fortunes.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

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Pippa Scott

Director

Oreet Rees

Director

Don Cheadle

Narrator

Pippa Scott

Producer

Glory Friend

Co-Producer

Pippa Scott

Writer

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Michael Ordoña

Los Angeles Times

Although King Leopold's Ghost dwells perhaps too long on the viciousness, it does offer clues on how it became a circle.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 28, 2006

Full Review

Andrew Sarris

Observer

King Leopold's Ghost can be recommended as an economical education in one of the lesser-known atrocities of the capitalist system, as well as an eye-opening account of history's most ruthless amasser of wealth.

Aug 23, 2006

Full Review

Sheri Linden

Hollywood Reporter

In its hard-hitting depiction of a legacy of unspeakable brutality, this film shows that the ghosts of Leopold are alive and well.

Aug 18, 2006

Full Review

Saundra Sorenson

Ventura County Reporter

In great detail, we see the origins of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, the galvanizing of ruthless investigative reporters and the glimmer of what might have been...

Rated: A

Dec 6, 2018

Full Review

Andy Klein

Los Angeles CityBeat

... hugely informative ... but [it] can be hard to get through ... not so much because of its sometimes excessive level of detail, but because of the stream of atrocity photographs we are subjected to.

Sep 29, 2006

Full Review

Ernest Hardy

L.A. Weekly

An often infuriating (and excruciating) film to watch, but one that gets to the root of the despair that now plagues so much of the African continent.

Sep 28, 2006

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Synopsis

Based on Adam Hochschild's 1998 historical novel of the same name, the film traces the brutal legacy of King Leopold II of Belgium. In the 1880s, Leopold began an underhanded campaign for the right to colonize the Congo Free State for himself, and once he succeeded, he turned the country into a slave camp, stripping out all valuable resources and slaughtering the locals. The film features interviews with Belgian scholars and Congolese survivors and is narrated by Don Cheadle.

Director: Pippa Scott, Oreet Rees
Screenwriter: Pippa Scott
Production Co: Linden Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Descriptions of Inhumanity|Graphic and Disturbing Images)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 20, 2016
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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